Sea and Sky Glows over the Oregon Coast
4.09.2022

Every step caused the sand to light up blue. That glow was bioluminescence -- a blue radiance that also lights the surf in this surreal scene captured in mid-2018 at Meyer's Creek Beach in Oregon, USA. Volcanic stacks dot the foreground sea, while a thin fog layer scatters light on the horizon.

APOD: 2025 November 3 Б A Double Helix Lunar Eclipse
3.11.2025

The image was timed to capture a total lunar eclipse -- but it came with quite a twist. First, the eclipse: the fully Earth-shadowed Moon is visible as the orange orb near the top.

APOD: 2024 November 24 Б Journey to the Center of the Galaxy
24.11.2024

What lies at the center of our galaxy? In Jules Verne's science fiction classic, A Journey to the Center of the Earth, Professor Liedenbrock and his fellow explorers encounter many strange and exciting wonders.

APOD: 2024 November 5 Б Milky Way over Easter Island
5.11.2024

Why were the statues on Easter Island built? No one is sure. What is sure is that over 900 large stone statues called moais exist there. The Rapa Nui (Easter Island) moais stand, on average, over twice as tall as a person and have over 200 times as much mass.

APOD: 2024 May 29 Б Stairway to the Milky Way
29.05.2024

What happens if you ascend this stairway to the Milky Way? Before answering that, let's understand the beautiful sky you will see. Most eye-catching is the grand arch of the Milky Way Galaxy...

APOD: 2023 May 29 Б Milky Way over a Turquoise Wonderland
29.05.2023

What glows there? The answer depends: sea or sky? In the sea, the unusual blue glow is bioluminescence. Specifically, the glimmer arises from Noctiluca scintillans, single-celled plankton stimulated by the lapping waves. The plankton use their glow to startle and illuminate predators.

Milky Way over Yellowstone
27.08.2014

The Milky Way was not created by an evaporating lake. The colorful pool of water, about 10 meters across, is known as Silex Spring and is located in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, USA. Illuminated artificially, the colors are caused by layers of bacteria that grow in the hot spring.

The Milky Way Over the Arizona Toadstools
22.02.2015

Which is older -- the rocks you see on the ground or the light you see from the sky? Usually its the rocks that are older, with their origin sentiments deposited well before light left any of the stars or nebulas you see in the sky.

APOD: 2023 December 12 Б Aurora and Milky Way over Norway
12.12.2023

What are these two giant arches across the sky? Perhaps the more familiar one, on the left, is the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy. This grand disk of stars and nebulas here appears to encircle much of the southern sky.

Solstice Sun and Milky Way
21.12.2017

Welcome to December's solstice, first day of winter in the north and summer for the southern hemisphere. Astronomical markers of the seasons, solstice and equinox dates are based on the Sun's place in its annual journey along the ecliptic, through planet Earth's sky.